I Dreamed A Dream at Bed

During the first week of December, we held a World AIDS Day concert at Bed Bar in Greenfield, Ortigas. Together with the concert, it was also our Christmas Party at LoveYourself, the group I volunteer in.

We sang songs as a group and there were solo performances. Of course, hindi ako nagpakabog. I had to sing a solo. To give you an idea why I sang this song, we had themes. Basically it were the different experiences that gay men go through. This involves falling in love, first heartbreak, family, being part of the community, etc.

I chose to sing a solo for 'first heartbreak' and the song I picked was I Dreamed A Dream from the hit musical, Les Miserables. What other song is there to sing for a theater nut like me, right?

Apologies for the quality of the video, I had to lower the resolution on my phone because I was running out of space.



O, wag masyadong okrayin ang performance ko ah. At that moment, all I could think of was, try to out-Fantine Anne Hathaway. Char!

What's In a Tag?

Last week, we had our LoveYourself General Assembly. Imagine a big hall full of gay men. It was hag heaven. There were team building activities and announcements and stuff. One particular activity that struck me had something to do with the bag tags in the photo.

The tags were on a podium and the podium was carried to the center of the hall. We were instructed to take the tag/s and give them to people who we feel had an impact on us. There were 3 colors and every color had a meaning.

APCOM Training in Bangkok and a Bit of Nightlife

The training in Bangkok was for 5 days. Now I am not exactly sure what I can post here, for security reasons, so in a nutshell this is what we did while we were in Training.

Basically, it was a training on Communications and Social Media and how we can use them to effectively help the MSM, LGBT and PLHIV community. We had speakers from UNAIDS, Being LGBT in Asia, Youth Voices Count, AIDS Positive Network, etc.

iResidence Hotel Bangkok

While in Bangkok, all of us delegates from outside of Thailand stayed at the iResidence Hotel in Bangkok. It's right across the street from the Chong Nonsi BTS station. I got to the hotel at around 2pm.

The lobby was not that spacious and it took them a while to have my room ready but I am to blame for that. While checking in, I asked the receptionist lady if she could put me in a room where I could smoke. Apparently, the room I was supposed to stay in did not have a "smoking area". I got to my room after about 40 minutes.

Bangkok: Getting There

I didn't post about this before but I was accepted into a training program that would be held in Bangkok. The training program was funded by the Robert Carr Civil Society Network Fund (RCNF). It would be a 5-day workshop conducted by the Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health (APCOM) and it focuses on communications and social media. I applied for the program some time in July. A few weeks after that, I received an email from the Communications Officer of APCOM, inviting me for an interview.

A few days after the interview, I received an email congratulating me saying that I was accepted to the program. I was so happy, I almost lost my shit. I just couldn't believe it. Out of 150 applicants from all around Asia, I was one of the 15 people they chose. I was so happy that I was crying glitter and puking rainbows. 

The entire trip including accommodation would be paid for by APCOM through the RCNF, plus we would receive per diem. I had 3 weeks to get my affairs in order to ensure that I would be able to leave. This included having my mom send over my passport because I forgot to get it from her when we went to Hong Kong back in May and asking permission from my boss to be gone for an entire week. 

Happy Anniversary Gregory!

This post is a little late (3 weeks) but I would like to let you all know that Gregory and I celebrated our first year together. Back in March, I wrote about the anniversary of us meeting but this time, it was our officially-being-together anniversary.

I've told the story before and I've written about moments we had. Pati moments narin kung saan halos mapatid ako sa sarili kong hair. Ganun.

But yes, one year na kami. Akalain niyo yun?

To celebrate our anniversary, we went to Baguio. Our anniversary fell on a Sunday so we spent the weekend up in the mountains. We went around the city, I got to see my friends again and the best part was, Gregory was with me. It was a great vacation.

No Rest For The Wicked

Mean.

It's a word that I have associated myself with for many years now. But of all words, why 'mean'? You see, I wasn't always like this. There was a time when I tried so hard to fit in. A time when I was nice to everyone around me so they'd like me so I would feel that I had a place in this cruel, cruel world.

But not everyone saw it that way. Even as a kid, I was outspoken. I would have no fear of expressing what was on my mind. I think it's because of that why others misunderstood my personality. Still, I tried to be nicer to people.

Mean, Evil, Mayabang, Arrogant, I have been called these and much more that I’ve lost count. I used to ask myself why. Why do they call me these words? Was I really like that? I knew that I was different. I wasn’t gifted with the same amount of patience or humility others have. Which is why when I dislike something, I would state it outright. I was foolish to think that people, at that time, were mature enough to understand na ganito talaga ako.

However, I was wrong. They took it against me. But I kept telling myself to be nice to them and one day they will realize that I am not the monster they've painted me to be.

The cycle kept repeating itself for a long time. One day I asked myself, what if they're right? What if I am evil? What if I’m really mean? That’s when it hit me. It could only be said so many times and coming from different people, there must have been some truth to it.

Foodie.ph (An Up and Coming Delivery Service in the Metro)

Hello my dear readers! As most of you know, I love food. My waistline and size XL shirts speak of how much I love food. Food delivery is my best friend when I feel the munchies which is why I am so happy to have discovered Foodie.ph, a 24/7 delivery service.

Last Friday I ordered from Foodie.ph because I had a scheduled trip at midnight and I didn’t have enough time to prepare dinner. I ordered at around 5:30pm and scheduled it to be delivered by 8:45. Oh yeah, that’s a nifty feature in the website, you could specify the time you want the food to arrive. A few minutes after placing my order, my phone rang and it was a customer service rep from the site. He was full of life and very friendly. Seriously. I’m sure my expat friends who constantly complain about the horrible customer service in this country would love this site.